


Tickle Me?

by Mortia



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Drug Withdrawal, Drugs, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, No Incest, Tickle Fights, Tickle fic, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 14:08:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20508269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mortia/pseuds/Mortia
Summary: Klaus needs a distraction. Diego (unwillingly) provides.





	Tickle Me?

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was meant to be just silly, light-hearted fluff. But then, I couldn't resist throwing in some angst, as usual ^^' Anyway, I hope you enjoy this silly little idea I had.
> 
> (Two fics posted in one day. The sky must be falling.)

Going through withdrawal was hell.

The twitching, the tremors, the aching, the nausea were already bad enough but added to the rising panic caused by the shadows that followed him everywhere, haunting him, _tormenting_ _him_, made the symptoms of withdrawal even worse. However, unlike most people going through similar struggles, his hallucinations were _real_.

Sweating in his bed, Klaus wondered why being sober was that important anyway.

_For Dave_, he reminded himself. But as time went on, the symptoms got worse and the ghosts got louder, it became more and more difficult to care. Dave was dead and he wasn't coming back. Why did it matter if his ghost was still around? He would be just another lost soul to haunt him like Ben.

Unable to care anymore, Klaus got up from the bed, searching his coat for his drugs.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ben's voice sounded from somewhere behind him. He didn't look back.

"Just a small pinch. Just one." Klaus answered, desperately.

He continued looking until he found a small bag with blue powder in his pocket. His hands were shaking as he pulled it out.

Ben's translucent form quickly appeared before him, trying to dissuade him. "Klaus, no. You're doing so well. Come on."

"Well is a bit of an overstatement.", He murmured. But he paused in opening the bag.

"You are. You've never been this serious about going sober before. Don't throw it all away now. I know it's hard but it's only temporary." Ben pleaded

"There is nothing temporary about that." Klaus made a vague gesture towards a particularly loud shadow whimpering in the corner of his room.

Ben had no response to that. In the moment of hesitation that followed, Klaus opened the bag, prepared to take some of the blue powder, when Ben's desperate suggestion made him pause.

"Wait! What about a distraction? Why don't you go ask for tickles?"

Klaus hesitated.

When Klaus was young, he would often ask his siblings to tickle him. Tickling helped him clear his mind and the laughter drowned out the moans and wailing from the dead. It was fun, it was innocent and it served to distract him from the rotting corpses around him. At least until things had gotten worse (for both Klaus mentally and their strained family relationships) and Klaus had started to resort to more harmful methods to numb the horror. While it lasted though, his need for a distraction had been constant and he was always asking (begging really) his siblings for tickles, sometimes even provoking them and bribing them to do it when asking failed.

Diego and Ben were the usual targets. Diego tried to refuse but was easily provoked and despite his many complaints about Klaus's insatiability, the latter could tell that he had fun doing it. They often had tickle fights that ended up with Klaus quickly on the receiving end, not that he put up much of a fight. Nonetheless, the feeling of victory egged Diego on and they both left those tickle fights happy and smiling. As for Ben, he was just so understanding and considerate. He understood the burden of an unwanted power and Klaus's need for a distraction. He didn't mind helping out and would indulge him when he asked. He was gentle but firm, tickling him with an ease born from familiarity.

Surprisingly, Five had also been a great tickler. When he was younger and more carefree, he had a bit of a mischievous streak and sometimes amused himself by teleporting behind his siblings and sneakily tickling them when they weren't expecting, just to mess with them. When Klaus asked him to tickle him, he often complied and he was _ruthless_, finding his weak spots and exploiting them with calculated precision and teasing mercilessness. He knew Klaus needed it and he held nothing back. Those encounters were _intense_ and Klaus usually walked away from them breathless and a little dazed.

Allison was harder to convince. When she wasn't feeling up to it, it was very hard to change her mind but she could be bribed into reconsidering. When she was willing though, she was surprisingly gentle and slow in her tickling and her long nails were the best for soft giggling. Klaus went to her when he was craving a more gentle approach. Sometimes, she would even initiate it herself when they were snuggling around together.

Vanya was shy and usually kept isolated from her extraordinary siblings so they didn't interact much. Klaus still asked her to tickle him anyway but she was careful and hesitant in her touch as if afraid to overstep and drive him away. Klaus thought that it was a shame because with her violin practice, Vanya was by far the sibling with the most finger dexterity. She would make a great tickler someday.

As for Luther, Number One usually refused as if such a childish activity was beneath him. However, like Diego, he could be provoked and get carried away with their playful fights. His tickling was a bit clumsy and he tended to use a little too much strength but he was naturally the best at pining Klaus down and keeping his squirming contained. When he ganged up with one (or more) of his siblings, Klaus knew he was in for a bad time.

All in all, it was a fun activity and a distraction from both the dead and their messed up lives. Even if his siblings sometimes found his constant requests for tickles to be annoying and a little weird, they indulged him anyway. They might be a very dysfunctional family but they were still family.

However, over the years and as they grew up, the family started to fall apart. First with Five's disappearance and later with Ben's death, their relationships became strained and Reginald's overbearing presence drove most of them to leave the Umbrella Academy. Everyone went their separate ways and they didn't talk for years.

Klaus turned to alcohol and hard drugs to numb the ghosts and mostly forgot about his more innocent fix. It wasn't really needed anyway, when he was high all the time.

Now however that he was trying to get sober, he couldn't rely on drugs anymore. And if he was to stay sober, he needed a distraction. He put down the bag and breathed in deeply, willing himself to ignore the temptation.

"You know, that's the best idea I've heard all week." Now that Ben had suggested it, Klaus could already feel the old craving resurface.

Unfortunately, he still had no idea how to make Ben tangible enough to do it so that option was out.

"I wish you could do it." He sighed

"I could if you learned to control your powers.", Ben told him gently. In other words, he had to stay sober. Klaus sighed again for good measure. Guess that made another reason to get sober then.

Ben was out so he would have to ask one of his living siblings. Five was MIA as usual, probably dealing with Apocalypse-related issues as he obsessively did these days. Vanya and Allison weren't currently at the mansion either so that left either Luther or Diego. Without much thinking, Klaus went to find Diego. 

He found him in his room going through his knives and hiding a few of them under his clothes. He seemed to be getting ready to go out.

"Hey, can I ask you a little favour?" Diego looked up from where he was securing a small knife scabbard to his ankle to see Klaus in the doorway of his room.

"I'm not giving you a ride.", he answered immediately.

"No, no. Just... Tickle me, please?" Klaus just blurted it out like he used to when he was younger. No use beating around the bush. He had never been shy to ask for what he wanted anyway.

Diego paused in his work to give him an incredulous look. "Aren't you a little too old to be asking for tickles now? We're not children anymore."

"Diego, please. I need a distraction.", he insisted.

"Ask somebody else. I'm busy." With that said, he turned back to his knives, resuming what he was doing.

Well, asking Diego rarely worked anyway. Time for plan B.

"Come on, don't make me make you." Diego shot him another disbelieving look.

"Are you serious right now? I don't have time for this." Diego sheathed one final sleek knife in his thigh holster and turned, fully intending to walk away. Unfortunately for him, Klaus had never left the doorway and Diego would have to go through him to leave.

"Step away.", He ordered.

But Klaus was on a mission now. He wouldn't be moved. He extended his arms to block the narrow space of the doorway. "Not until you do it", he replied with a grin.

"Klaus...", Diego warned. Klaus just made himself comfortable against the doorway.

With a growl, Diego tried to forcefully shove his way past his brother only for Klaus to curl his arms around his stomach as he's passing, holding on and not letting go. In the ensuing struggle, he takes the opportunity to slip a quick hand under his brother's arm and squeeze. At that, Diego snaps his arms back to his body with a yelp, curling them against his chest in an attempt to protect his torso. He only succeeds in trapping Klaus's hand against his body, and he visibly starts to panic. "K-Klaus, I swear. D-don't you fucking dare."

But Klaus wasn't intimidated. He was already giggling in delight at the challenge. The stutter had started. It wouldn't take long now. "Oh, I dare, dear brother!"

Diego was stronger than him but he was also too ticklish for his own good and the right touches could bring him to his knees in seconds. It was a weakness that Klaus absolutely took advantage of in order to gain the upper hand. Unluckily for Diego, Klaus had a lot of experience in pushing his buttons and finding the right spots. He lost no time in wiggling his trapped fingers against the other's underarm, digging into the soft flesh just like he remembered doing in the past. Sure enough, the poor man abandoned all attempts at shoving him away, letting out a strangled whine and curling up further to protect his sensitive flesh. He started to slide down to the ground. Klaus accompanied him.

(Klaus also took the chance to throw away some of the most hazardously placed knives decorating his brother's body. It wouldn't be fun if the game was interrupted by an accidental stab.) 

The scene was as adorable as he remembered, even if the man in question would be horrified at being considered adorable. Diego tended to curl up when he was being tickled, trying to protect his ticklish body. He had slid down all the way to the floor and was sitting against Klaus's kneeling body, knees up to his chest. It hadn't taken long for him to explode with laughter. The laughter itself was loud and breathy, with a helpless quality to it, accompanied by squeals when Klaus dug into just the right spots. With his free hand, Klaus took the chance to also attack whichever spots Diego's curled up position left exposed: his flanks, his back, his neck... Diego was squirming wildly, pounding his feet helplessly against the floor and arching back against Klaus. As he said, _adorable_. 

"K-Klahahaus! S-stohohohop!"

Poor Diego. Luckily for him, Klaus had no intention to win. If he fought seriously in their tickle fights, Diego wouldn't stand a chance. He was just that ticklish. Klaus eased up just enough for Diego to breathe and start fighting back.

"Make me." Klaus replied cheekily. At this point, Klaus was too amused to stop completely. Tickling Diego might not be the endgame but it was still fun.

He took his trapped hand off Diego's underarm and used it to give the curled up knee a squeeze. Diego immediately uncurled his legs, putting them out of reach. Klaus went for ribs instead.

"O-okahahay. Thahat's it. N-now you're getting ihihit!" As he said that, Diego finally managed to grab one of the tickling hands and moved it away from his body. He used his hold on Klaus' wrist to sharply pull him forward. The sudden movement made Klaus lose his balance and he fell on his side on the ground beside him. Diego took the opportunity to try to turn the tables and to pin him down. Klaus shivered in anticipation.

He fought back half-heartedly. He had no intention of fighting at all but if he didn't struggle enough, Diego would lose interest and stop. Diego thrived in the adrenaline of the fight and he would be more invested if Klaus struggled a little. 

As such, he squirmed and thrashed, only to be pinned harder, and still tried to sneak in a few tickles past Diego's defences, making him jerk and bark out a laugh. He squealed in delight when Diego squeezed his hips in retaliation right afterwards. He might not be as ticklish as Diego but he was still decently ticklish and, just like Klaus, Diego knew how to get to him. 

One of his hands managed to land a few pokes on Diego's belly, making the other man instinctively curl up, only to be caught right afterwards and pinned to the floor next to his head. His other hand was flailing around until it too was caught and pinned next to the other. Diego caught them both in one hand over his head, leaving his other hand free to do what he wanted.

They both panted for a second, catching their breaths from the fight.

"I'm sorry?", Klaus tentatively said, even though they both knew that he wasn't. 

"You're dead." Now that he had the upper hand, Diego's bravado and threatening demeanour returned. His grin looked _vengeful_. Klaus' breath caught in his throat at the marvellous sight.

It wasn't as if Diego didn't know he had been played, manipulated into this exact situation. But they both knew the game by now and despite his earlier apparent hostility, Diego didn't seem to mind this as much as he let on.

_Finally_, Diego's hand found his ribs, fingers vibrating enthusiastically between the sensitive bones and Klaus was _gone_. The shadows at the corners of his vision became irrelevant as the pressing need to escape the sensations took precedence over his every sense. He let himself surrender to the feeling, laughter, whines, and squeals leaving his lips unrestrained, wiggling and squirming in the hold but unable to escape. 

He missed this feeling. The overwhelming sensations drowned out all thoughts and worries for a moment, leaving him a giggling mess at his brother's mercy. And at the moment, his brother had none.

He kept changing spots and techniques, never leaving Klaus any moment to get used to it. One moment he was digging into his ribs, the next he was wiggling against his belly, followed by squeezes to his hipbones and then prods to his armpits. And Klaus laughed in response, laughed until his breath came up short, laughed until tears rolled down his face, laughed until his abdominal muscles hurt. And then he laughed some more until Diego finally decided to give him a little reprieve to breathe.

He panted on the floor, boneless and eyes closed, as he enjoyed the peace and quiet inside his mind for a moment. He knew it wouldn't last long so he had to enjoy it while it lasted.

"Had enough?", Diego teased him.

"Never.", He teased back.

"You're incorrigible." He shook his head in exasperation, letting Klaus go and getting up to leave. Nevertheless, he was smiling fondly as he extended his hand to help him up.

**Author's Note:**

> This was really silly but I had a lot of fun with it xD I kinda feel tempted to write small drabbles for the other Hargreeves siblings tickling Klaus as well. Let me know if that is something you would be interested in seeing and which sibling you would like to see the most.


End file.
